The trio who filed bills — Sen.
The bills aren't identical, but they all look to create a pilot program that tests the effectiveness of speed cameras and similar technology on
Current state law neither allows nor prohibits speed cameras.
Moseley, a Democrat who said he has been working with Republican colleague Ford on the topic for two years, emphasized that this isn't meant to be a revenue generator.
"It's not about money. It's not about punishment," Moseley said. "It's only about seeing what we can do to make our roads safer."
Ford agreed, saying work zone safety is a bipartisan issue.
“It definitely is a bipartisan bill," he said, "because everybody wants the workers to be able to work in a safe environment.”
In 2020, there were 1,346 crashes in work zones on
On all roads, there were nearly 6,000 work zone collisions in
Pressel, who chairs the House Roads and Transportation committee, declined multiple interview requests from IndyStar.
How the speeding tickets would work
The bills differ, but they generally allow the installation of technology to record how fast vehicles go and take pictures of their rear license plates if they're going over a designated speed.
Two of the bills only allow citations to be issued if a vehicle is going 11 mph over the limit or more while the third requires 12 mph over the limit or more. Workers must be present, and signs ahead of the zone must warn of the automated system.
The registered owner of the vehicle would receive a letter notifying them of the citation. It would include the date and time of the violation and the picture taken that day.
Drivers could contest the citation. Ford's and Moseley's bills allow vehicle owners to argue they were not driving at the time by providing the name, address and driver's license number of the person who they say was actually driving.
Protecting privacy
Ford's and Moseley's bills specifically say photos may not be taken of the front of vehicles and lay out specific rules about how pictures taken by the speed cameras may be used. The photos may not be used as evidence in other investigations, for one.
Both Ford and Moseley said they don't want the program to be seen as a "Big Brother" government program.
"Piloting helps us ensure that we don’t unintentionally infringe on the rights of people,” Moseley said.
“It's really just to catch the license plates,” Ford said.
Speeding: Why
Pressel's bill limits the pilot program to four systems and sets fines for speeders caught by the automated system at $75. The other two bills have a warning for first-time offenses, a $75 fine for second offenses and $150 fines each time after.
All three of the work zone speeding bills direct funds from the automated tickets to not go to that general fund.
Pressel proposes a work zone safety fund with
Moseley said he's open to compromise on how the funds are used, as long as they help people and do not go to the state's general fund. To him, success is seeing work zone crashes and fatalities decrease, not generating more money for the state.
While previous legislative attempts to implement this technology in work zones have failed, Ford said he thinks it will have a better chance of passing this time around.
“I think a lot of legislation that involves technology, new ideas sometimes takes a little while to get through the system and to really educate our colleagues,” explained Ford, who said they now have supporting data from other states.
Pressel's position as chair of the House transportation committee gives him say over which of the two House bills — his own or Moseley's — move forward.
Moseley understands the dynamic and has signed on as a co-author to Pressel's bill. He thinks they share the same goal.
"It's all about let's see what we can do to help people be safe."
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